Macross Delta: The Everlasting Guilty Crown
by Shidou Haruka
Summary: December 25, 2069. A mysterious alien lifeform known as Daat attacked Fleet 35 in an even known as Lost Christmas. The Star Singer and her knight was sent to their aid to repel this new alien forces. The year is now AD 2072. The war against Daat is still continuing. In the midst of all this, a new story is about to begin.
1. Chapter 1

**Episode 1: Lost Christmas**

-December 25, 2069-

On the bridge of Macross Veneficus a man with shoulder-length raven hair and blue eyes is sitting on the captain's seat while tapping the armrest restlessly while staring at the fold space. Beside him standing right next to his seat is a young woman with shoulder-length violet hair and red eyes who looks calmer than the man but she is also as anxious as him.

"Captain, we'll be defolding in ten minutes."

One of the operators of the Macross Veneficus reported. The commander nodded and stood up from his seat.

"Alright everyone, all hands, battle station! Tell the Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Omega, and Theta platoons to prepare themselves. Once we're out, have all fighters scramble and then transform! The enemy will be strong. This alien species known as Daat had managed to cripple the majority of Fleet 35's combat capability. Once we arrive, we'll give them everything we got!"

"""Yes sir!"""

The whole bridge chorused. The man, Captain Shinomiya Kazumi, sat back on his seat and adopted a serious look as he heard his order being broadcasted throughout the ship by the comms officers.

Yesterday, NUNS and Chaos received a broadcast for help from the Macross 35 immigration fleet requesting for immediate assistance to repel the alien life-form known as Daat that they have encountered. The fleet had suffered massive casualty over the course of their battle against the alien life-form that appear to came out of nowhere. The fleet was one of the few tasked to explore the outer regions of the galaxy that mostly still remains a great mystery to them.

This species called Daat has crystal-like form with body akin to mercury. They attack in swarms not unlike the Vajra. Their numbers are lesser but they attack with ferocity with one of their most frightening ability, the ability to assimilate what they touch and turn them into crystals.

Everything they touch turn to crystal and shatter. Conventional weapons like bullets and missiles will be assimilated by their body at moment of contact rendering them ineffective so instead, energy weapons and dimensional weapon was used but even then these aliens possess some resistance to energy weapons.

With these aliens fighting mostly in close combat, the deployment of dimensional weapon is limited. The battle against these aliens codenamed Daat slowly crippled Fleet 35's combat ability. But luck did not completely abandon the fleet during one of their own 'Miss Macross' competition which coincided with an attack from these aliens.

During the attack, some Daat managed to break into Island 1 and attack the competition building. It was then that one of the contestants, Yuzuriha Mana, who was left behind during the evacuation, trapped among the debris of the demolished building, began to sing earnestly and the Daat stopped.

It was found out that Daat was affected by the massive fold wave coming from Mana. When subjected to extremely strong fold wave, the Daat began to harden, making conventional weapon effective on them. Furthermore, the stronger the fold wave is, the weaker these aliens get. Mana's singing managed to turn the tide of the subsequent battles with Daat.

That day, Macross 35 fleet managed to finally push back the Daat, having found their one weakness… only to find out that there was more to them than meets the eye.

Just yesterday, the Daat launched another attack on the day of their fleet's Diva, Yuzuriha Mana's Anniversary Concert. The attack was unlike anything previously seen and they were gradually being pushed back. The aim of the attack is simple. The abduction of Yuzuriha Mana as Daat swarmed the concert hall immediately. The last transmission they got from Fleet 35 was that Yuzuriha Mana was taken and Fleet 35 lost their Macross.

In response to this, Macross Veneficus under the command of Captain Kazumi Shinomiya was sent to rescue Fleet 35. Kazumi is determined to succeed, and succeed he will, with one of the greatest songstress the galaxy had ever seen by his side. Once they defolded, the crew of Macross Veneficus and the supporting fleet saw fleet 35 being attacked by numerous silver monsters.

* * *

-December 25, AD 2069, Lost Christmas-

"So those are Daat."

Kazumi muttered as the Veneficus' main monitor showed zoomed images of the enemies being fought by Fleet 35's complement of VF-171, VF-25 in Tornado pack, and several VF-29. The VF-25 in Tornado pack and the VF-29 fared much better than the more common VF-171 with their complement of beam weapons but the enemy will overwhelm them in number, especially now with the absence of their diva.

Fighters fell by the dozens as the battle rages on. If Kazumi doesn't do anything fast, the fleet will fall. He then turn to the young woman beside him and nodded. The woman nodded back and ran to the edge of the bridge and jump down onto a stage below the bridge. Her Chaos uniform then transformed into black, white, and indigo concert outfit of the well-known Walkure lead singer. She brought a mic to her lips as music began to play.

"Lend an ear to the song of a goddess!"

The Daat began to freeze and turn towards the newly arrived Macross Veneficus as music blared from the mighty Macross battleship's specially installed fold speakers. Numerous platoons of VF-31 in both Super pack and Armored pack took off from the ship as it transformed into its gigantic robot form while firing countless amount of beam cannons.

_'Mitsumeatte koi wo shite_

_Mu ga muchuu de oikakete_

_Dakedo motto shiritakute meramera shiteru"_

The Star Singer, Mikumo Shinomiya's voice began to echo throughout the battlefield. The powerful fold wave projected by the Star Singer immediately made an effect on the Daat as many of them began to hold their faceless head with their lance-like arms as if they were in pain.

"Now! Begin the counterattack! Charge the Macross cannon!"

Kazumi ordered. Everyone on the bridge complied as the Macross Veneficus entered the battlefield with the Star Singer on board. Keeping the enemies at bay with a barrage of cannon fire, the crew quickly work on charging the main cannon, the signature weapon of every Macross-class battleship.

"Target the enemy swarm in front of Island 1! Alert every allied unit in the area to stay clear of the blast radius! Once allied units have retreated, mow them down!"

Kazumi instructed. Following his instruction, the weapon control crew work on targeting the enemy swarm with the Macross cannon while the communication officers issue the alert to steer clear of their blast radius. Once every allied units have retreated, the Macross cannon fired.

_'Negau hodo nazo ga fue_

_Omou hodo netsu ni naru_

_Dakara motto tobikomu no mikai no sekai ah'_

The cannon fire decimated the swarm of Daat by the thousands as the interference by Mikumo's powerful biological fold wave caused them to be unable to evade properly. Seeing the decimation, Captain Shinomiya grinned. But that grin immediately disappear when he looked towards the fleet and saw its condition. It doesn't look very good. Many support ships had been damaged and Island 1 is in a bad shape. It will take some time and a lot of resources to fix the fleet. Fortunately, he had the foresight to request to bring such resources.

"What's the status of the battlefield?"

Kazumi asked. One of the operators immediately work on finding out the condition of the battle.

"40% of the enemy forces was decimated by the Macross cannon but there are still many of them left. But thanks to miss Shinomiya's song, the Daat forces' combat effectiveness had dropped significantly and our forces' morale had risen. We're gradually pushing them back!"

Kazumi nodded. That's a very good news. Their initial attack fortunately managed to take out a large chunk of the enemy forces. They managed to caught the Daat off guard from the flank and Mikumo's song kept them in place long enough to be mowed down from a perfect position. The battle is going well.

_'Koi toka yume toka_

_Daredemo shinjiru kedo_

_Sokosoko semenakya tsumannai yo'_

The Captain then looked at his singing wife. The violet haired beauty is singing one of her signature songs with great fervor as expected of her and it is affective against the Daat. That's good. He's at least relieved that she doesn't have to go Star Singer mode at the moment. That is only an absolute last resort.

The Macross battleship continued advancing, destroying enemies by the dozens with its many guns as it flew through the battlefield. There's still some time until the Macross cannon is charged once more but with how the battle is slowly tilting to their side, it is possible that they could win the battle without firing a second shot.

At that moment, a screen appeared on the main monitor of Macross Veneficus' bridge. Someone from Island 1 had just contacted them. On the screen, the image of a middle-aged man with white hair and thick facial hair appeared. From his uniform, Kazumi can tell that he's a NUNS officer.

"This is Commodore Yan of the NUNS. We thank you for your assistance. May I know the name of the fleet's commanding officer?"

The man requested so Kazumi introduced himself.

"This is Captain Shinomiya of Chaos. We will assist you in repelling the enemy forces."

"Thank You. At present, we have lost 60% of our forces. We will require assistance in wiping out the Daat inside Island 1."

"Acknowledged. We'll get to it immediately."

As the transmission ended, Kazumi got up from his seat and turn around to walk out from the bridge. Seeing their captain about to leave, someone asked where he's going.

"The battle in space seems to be going smoothly so I'm joining the battle inside Island 1. Tell the hangar crew to prep my Valkyrie."

_'Girigiri ai ikenai borderline_

_Nanido G demo subete kowashitemiseru_

_Kirikiri mai saranaru G he to_

_Ishiki ga tokeru karada wa seigyo funou_

_Icchau kamo ne'_

Kazumi walk to the hangar after changing into his pilot suit. Once there, he saw that his custom unit is prepped and ready. It is a unit designated as VF-31F/sk, a custom Siegfried unit with an enhanced Fold Wave Resonance system. As with most Siegfried unit, its primary body color is gray added with the pilot's personal color over it, which is bright red in Kazumi's case. On the center of the unit's back is Kazumi's personal emblem, a raven in flight.

The Captain grinned. While he had worked hard to reach the position he has today and is proud to be entrusted with a Macross-class battleship, this is where his heart truly lies. Before he's a battleship captain, he is a pilot first and foremost. That single fact will never change no matter how high up in the rank he goes. With trained ease, the Captain jumped into the valkyrie's cockpit. He closed the canopy and brought his unit out to the runway.

"Shinomiya Kazumi, launching."

Engaging his thrusters, Kazumi launched from the Macross-class battleship. He quickly deployed his container weapon which had been switched from its original gunpod setup with a twin MDE cannon setup. Shooting down any approaching Daat with trained ease, the ace pilot headed straight into Island 1 through a hole on its outer layer followed by Alpha and Beta platoons.

Once he's inside, he was greeted by a very unusual and horrifying sight. Many parts of the island, from the streets, buildings, and even the lakes are covered with crystals. There are fire and destruction everywhere. Moving quickly, he began dispatching more Daat through some quick shooting.

_'Fuzakeatta tomodachi to_

_Motomeatta ano hito to_

_Mata aeru hi no tame ni giragira shiteru'_

"Captain, there are civilians still in the city!"

The recon unit of Alpha platoon told him while pointing at the city. Various images appeared on his monitor showing several groups of civilians running from the battle. Some of them are even chased by some crystal humanoids. Are they some kind of Daat foot soldiers?

"Alpha and Beta platoons, spread out and protect the civilians. Help them evacuate to the shelters!"

The Captain ordered. All pilots acknowledged his order and spread out as they began dispatching the Daat forces one by one while heading to areas where civilians are. Kazumi then observe the battlefield. There's a large number of enemies inside the Island. It will take a while to clear them all out. Finding some civilians to help evacuate, joined the battle.

"We'll need a new pack to handle these guys."

The ace pilot muttered as he destroyed another Daat after several shots from his railguns. Sighing, he flew down to the city in fighter mode, firing missiles at Daat as he passed them by, setting the missiles to explode upon contact. Once he reached near ground level, he noticed a group of civilians being chased by some smaller Daat with one large type behind. Kazumi transformed his unit to gerwalk mode to stomp on the smaller units and fired his railguns at them. The large type saw him and launched a crystal projectile. Using his cannon, he shot them and the large type down easily.

"Quickly, run to the nearest shelter!"

Kazumi ordered the civilians who all nodded and continue running. He began sweeping the streets and destroy any enemies he came across. The large number of smaller Daat type is a major threat for civilians. Using all his guns, Kazumi decimate them by the dozens.

Just as he was about to make another turn, his instinct suddenly told him to stop. He did it just in time as something soar through the air in front of him and hit a building close to him. Surprised, Kazumi immediately follow the trajectory of the projectile and saw a Daat aiming its right arm at him, a right arm that is in the shape of a long rifle and firing somethine very similar to a bullet.

"What the hell? That one is different from what we've been facing! Another type of Daat?"

Kazumi wondered. He immediately pulled up just as the new type fired at him once again with its arm rifle. He responded by firing his MDE cannon at it. With his accurate shooting, he dispatched the new type easily but had to move as he noticed more of the new type closing in.

_'Hikaru hodo kage wa deki_

_Moeru hodo hai ni naru_

_Hashiru hodo mietekuru abunai line ah'_

Kazumi opened fire with his railguns… but they only did some damage instead of outright destroying the new types. The ace clicked his tongue. The new types are more durable than their common counterpart. He fired at them with his cannon while evading their shot. Two more of those new type fell to him when he decided to get in close with battroid mode. A compartment then opened on his unit's leg. A folded blade shoots out from the compartment and he grabbed it, cutting down two other new types in a single swing.

"They're a tough one even with Mikumo's song weakening them. Now I can see why they are so dangerous."

The ace pilot then proceeds to cut down more enemies. He dodged several shots from another new type and shoot it down with his cannon. Several of the older type then converged on his position when they noticed their stronger brethren being destroyed one by one by the Star Singer's knight. Not worried at all about being surrounded, the Siegfried grab its sword tightly, waiting for them to attack.

They lunged at him with their lance-like arms but Kazumi easily dodged and cut them. Changing his cannon to its container form so it won't get damaged in the melee, he focuses on close combat, cutting down the older type as they come at him while expertly evading their attacks. He had cut down more than a dozen when they stopped coming and kept their distance. Kazumi realized that they have become wary of him and are keeping their distance.

"They are watching huh? Does that mean that they have sentience?"

He wondered. But that's a question that can be asked later when the battle is over. He then looked out for more enemies. He then saw some of the new types firing down on the city. That means they are attacking something, most likely civilians. Turning to their direction, Kazumi stored his sword and transform to fighter mode.

_'Jiyuu mo heiwa mo_

_Nozomeba umareru kedo_

_Motamota shitetara kusacchau yo'_

He shot down two of the new types first. When they fell, he immediately looked for any civilians that might be in the vicinity. To his horror, he was too late. A group of civilians were here but they had been killed by the Daat attacking them before. Their bodies have been torn apart by the new type's bullet and what was left of their flesh now has some sort of crystal growing from them.

But his attention was then taken by an explosion occurring not far. Heading there as fast as he can, his monitor showed him an image of a family of three running away from a wrecked Nightmare Plus. They are being followed by a new type Daat. With the Nightmare Plus protecting them gone, the Daat aimed its right rifle arm at the family. Alarmed, Kazumi deployed his cannon and fired.

Unfortunately, he was too late. The moment his blast destroyed the Daat, the bullet had been fired, and the family was caught up in the blast. He looked down at the point of impact and saw the family's scattered body parts sprouting crystal like the previous group he failed to save. Closing his eyes and offering them a brief prayer, he was about to move on when his sensors alerted him of some movement on the ground below. The monitor zoomed it on a spot not far from the point of impact and he saw a girl lying there, the daughter of the couple that had just died.

_'Girigiri ai abunai borderless_

_Hijoushiki da ne_

_Mada kasoku shiteru yo'_

Kazumi's eyes widened. The girl is still alive. She looked to be around fourteen or fifteen years old. She has some bruises but otherwise, she is alive. As the girl groaned and try to stand up, she winced. Kazumi transformed his Valkyrie to gerwalk mode and landed nearby. Opening his canopy and flying to where the girl is with his EX gear, he try to help her up.

"Can you get up?"

"N-no sir, my leg hurts when I try to stand."

Like the girl had said, her legs are injured by debris when the blast caught her and her family. It looks bad but at least she is alive. Since it can't be helped, Kazumi knelt down and pick up the young girl.

"Thank you sir. Umm, what about my parents? Where are…"

The girl did no manage to finish whatever it is that she wanted to ask because she turned behind her to see the fate of her parents with her own eyes. Kazumi cursed. With both his hands occupied, he couldn't cover her eyes and the girl had to see her dead family. The only silver lining is that the sight is not exactly as gruesome as it should be. Due to the crystals growing from parts of their corpses, there's not as much blood and gore. But seeing body pieces covered in crystals is still disturbing.

"No… papa, mama…"

Adjusting how he hold her, Kazumi pulled the girl into a hug as he let her cry on his shoulder. The girl wailed loudly. It reminded Kazumi of the time when his own mother, the only family he had ever known, passed away. Though it can't become a comparison because his mother passed away peacefully, not through getting shot by a large caliber gun. She's a strong one though. She hasn't gone into shock like some people did. That's a plus.

"Don't worry, everything is going to be alright."

Kazumi try to console her.

"B-but…"

Another explosion happened not far away. He nearly forgot that the battle is still raging. Flying back to his Valkyrie with the young girl, Kazumi restart his machine and flew up with the girl now sitting on his lap.

"Let's get out of here first. Hang on tight."

The girl nodded. Kazumi smiled seeing her trying to act strong. Then he plunged back into the battle, but this time so he can get back to Macross Veneficus outside. Since he has an injured passenger on board, he tried to fly a bit more smoothly than usual, keeping the speed on a more normal level so that the girl wouldn't be affected by the G much, especially since it would aggravate her injury. Even now, she is wincing whenever he move suddenly.

_'Kirikiri mai genkaiten nara_

_Nurikaete ii_

_Hakai to saisei kara_

_Watashi ga dekiru'_

Skillfully flying through the battlefield while shooting down enemies right and left, it took Kazumi only a moment to reach the hole on Island 1's canopy where he previously entered from. Just when he got out of Island 1 though, he saw a surprising sight. The Daat are beginning to retreat. Every each one of them began to fly out of the battlefield. Even the ones inside Island 1 are also starting to escape. With the Daat retreating, Mikumo also stopped singing, watching the enemy leave from her stage in Macross Veneficus.

"They are retreating."

Kazumi muttered. He then opened a channel to Macross Veneficus in response to this sudden retreat.

"This is Captain Shinomiya speaking. The Daat have begun to retreat. I want confirmation and when we have confirmed that they have all left the battlefield, have all soldier begin cleanup operation. I'll be returning to the ship in a moment."

Kazumi ended his transmission. He then took off his helmet and loosen his collar. It's been one hell of a fight. But that's not important. What is important now is the girl currently clinging on to him, still strapped to the seatbelt. She had stopped crying but she look a bit… well, scared is not exactly right but close enough. Probably because of him maneuvering in battle. It can be quite an experience for first time flyer, especially if it is in the middle of combat.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Kazumi asked the little girl. She looked up to him and nodded. There's still tears in her eyes but she's at least no longer crying. But now, what to do with her? Well, that's a problem for social service to take care of. But still, he can't help thinking about it. He did personally rescue her even if he failed helping her parents.

Being reminded of that fact dropped Kazumi's mood a little. If only he had been faster. Unfortunately, it's not an unusual story when you are on the battlefield. He had heard it often enough, of pilots failing to rescue a civilian right in front of them. It's also not the first time he failed. But this is the first time he at least managed to save someone after such failure.

"Captain Shinomiya, do you copy? We've confirmed the Daat's retreat. We're starting the cleanup operation soon."

"Please do so. Prioritize rescuing the civilians."

"Yes sir!"

With the confirmation of the Daat's retreat, the cleanup operation began. As he was about to turn his Valkyrie back to his ship though, he saw the girl on his lap looking up at him curiously.

"That miss called you Captain Shinomiya. Are you a Shinomiya too?"

The girl asked while tilting her head. Wait, too?

"Uhh, my name is Kazumi Shinomiya. What's your name, little one?"

Kazumi asked back a little awkwardly. He had never spoken with a child before so he's not sure what else to say and how to say it, especially with the question she asked him. The girl slightly smiled as she answered him.

"Ayase. My name is Ayase Shinomiya."

* * *

**Well damn, this would be my third rewrite of this story, but don't worry, this will be the last rewrite because now I have a much better idea about what I'm doing and a concrete plot. Anyway, once again, for those who had never read any of the previous version, this crossover story is based on my own Macross Delta fic which is a sequel to the series. This is the sequel to Song of the Stars RE though that story is not done but the general plot is quite obvious. I'll only reveal the obvious things from that story in this one. Anyway, unlike before where I just mentioned the battle, this time I added the Lost Christmas Battle into the story, granted I only write it from Kazumi's side but I think it's better than before. Anyway, the second chapter is almost done but I won't post it until after a full 24 hours. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Episode 2: Two Years Later**

-June 16, AD 2072-

More than two years had passed since Fleet 35's first major victory against the Daat and the Shinomiya couple's arrival and integration into the fleet. The Star Singer had proven to be a great boost for the fleet's morale and combat strength as it became easier to fight the Daat in their subsequent attacks, even repelling another major offense last October which forced Kazumi himself to sortie when the Macross was damaged in a sudden attack.

But with her knight protecting her, Mikumo managed to sing without worry as Kazumi would not let any enemy get even remotely close to his wife. Despite having Macross Vanaficus crippled, the second Daat major offense with the aim of kidnapping or killing Mikumo was thwarted.

But the battle is far from over. While they have managed to thwart another massive attack from the alien forces, their fleet incurred a massive loss that they can't easily recover from. The longer the war drags on, the worse their situation will be. By their estimation, the fleet can only handle one more major offense. Any more than that, then they will surely crumble.

It was in the middle of this major crisis that another story began.

* * *

"Raise, bow!"

The bell that signaled the end of class and school day had just rang. Following the instruction of the class representative, every student in the class got up and bow to the teachers. With that, another school day ended, the same as yesterday and the day before, a normal, boring everyday life. And it is something that Shu Ouma like. A day with no surprises.

The moment the teacher left the classroom, the brown haired boy pick up his bag and silently left. He paid no attention to his surroundings as he passed by other students, walking with even steps towards the school gate to go home. Since school is over, he has no reason to be around unless he's on cleanup duty, which he is not today.

Once he's out of the school, he headed straight back home. With no club activity to bother him today, he has no obligation to stay anywhere near the campus and can enjoy some peace and quiet. He took a tram that would drop him off close to where his apartment complex is.

His apartment complex is located close to the center of the city, allowing him easy access to nearly everywhere. It is also one of the newer apartment around and is quite expensive. He went up to the fifth floor where his apartment is. Putting his hand on the scanner beside the door that scan his whole handprint, the scanner confirmed that he is one of the residents and opened the door for him.

Once he has entered and locked the door behind him, he went straight down the hall and towards the living. When he entered the living room which is also attached to the dining room and kitchen and saw that it is empty, he threw his bag to the sofa. His mother is not around, which is not unusual in this past month since he heard from her that she is working on some incredible breakthrough.

His mother, Haruka Ouma, is one of the fleet's top researcher, especially in regards to fold technology as well as the Daat. Many people are counting on her in the battle against the hostile alien race. It sometimes kept her at work for hours, even days, and sometimes even to the point that he did not speak with her for a whole week due to missing each other.

That is fine. He doesn't mind it much. Haruka's work is important and she is very good at it. By now he is used to being left alone anyway, and he even find it calming. If he is alone, there is no need to interact with people. There is no social expectation he has to meet. Those things are a pain after all.

Without his mother around, Shu devolve into his usual habit when he got his peace and quiet. Sitting on the sofa and taking out his tablet, he started browsing through the internet for anything interesting. Usually there are funny videos people posted or some MV he could listen to.

One of the top-rated video he found is the video of Mikumo Shinomiya's latest live concert with the popular Walkure song 'Koi Halation The War'. It's a bit strange to hear the song being sung solo without the rest of the Walkure but it is still performed incredibly well by the lead singer of the famous group who followed her husband to Fleet 35.

The second most popular video online is an older but more familiar MV of the fleet's own singer, Mana Yuzuriha, who was abducted by Daat during the event known as Lost Christmas, the event in which he lost his father. It is a bit surprising that the old video still retained great popularity with Mana's signature song, Euterpe, but many people wanted to remember the singer they lost and who back then was their main deterrent against the forces of Daat. No singer had met as much success as her in influencing the Daat until Mikumo Shinomiya herself came.

Shu continue to scroll down to the third video. But when he saw the third most popular video online, he was surprised. It is a song cover of Euterpe. Now, he is not surprised that someone is doing a cover for the well-known song since he had seen a few of them before but no cover had reached the top hundred in terms of video popularity. This one did. He looked at the date it was posted and was surprised to see it posted only two days ago. That was a great raise in popularity and unprecedented.

He clicked on the video out of curiosity. How could a simple cover get so much popularity? When the video finally loaded, he started hearing the familiar instrumental intro of the song followed by the camera panning outward, showing the figure of a young girl dressed only in a costume made out of black feathers sitting on a ruined landscape.

It is amazing. The first few seconds alone had showed him how well-made the video is as the scene is made with high definition from a very high quality camera and taken by a skilled cameraman as there are no vibration that came from trembling hand as the camera pans out. Not only that, the instrumental intro is very clear too. But what captivated him the most is when the girl in the video began to sing.

_'Saita no no hana yo_

_Aa douka oshiete okure_

_Hito wa naze kizutsukeatte_

_Arasou no desho._

_Rin to saku hana yo_

_Soko kara nani ga mieru_

_Hito wa naze yurushiau koto _

_Dekinai no desho.'_

Her voice is clear and in tune with the instrumental. The pink haired young girl sang the song without any off key or missed timing almost as if it's like Mana herself is singing the song. Out of curiosity, he checked the video's description. What he read surprised him. The first line simply said _'In memoriam of Mana Yuzuriha'_. But the second line is what surprised him more. It was made by Inori Yuzuriha. Inori **_Yuzuriha_**!

_'Ame ga sugite natsu wa_

_Ao wo utsushita _

_hitotsu ni natte_

_Chiisaku yureta watashi no mae de_

_Nanimo iwazu ni'_

He immediately look back at the video itself. Now that he took a closer look at the girl in the video, he could see it. That pink hair is definitely the same shade of hair as Mana's. Their facial feature is also a close match. It made sense. The girl in the video is related to Mana and she must know Mana's song so well that she can replicate it perfectly. The singer's relation with Mana is the source of its massive amount of views.

"Inori Yuzuriha huh?"

Her voice is really beautiful. Not as energetic as Mana's but gentler and very soothing. Without thinking any further, Shu immediately subscribed to her channel and continue listening to the song, several times in fact as he kept pressing the replay button whenever the song ended.

He finally stopped when he heard his stomach growl. He looked at the clock and saw that it's around six and it's almost dark out. Sighing as he obeyed nature's demand, he went to the kitchen to check what food is available. When he opened the refrigerator, he groaned. They had run out of food. Which means he has to eat out. He could just order from phone but he's not in the mood for waiting. He should've checked the fridge earlier. Sighing once again, Shu prepare to go out for dinner.

* * *

Inori Yuzuriha blinked when she saw the amount of views and subscribe she received from her first video. It is a video she made on a whim to both remember her sister and to celebrate getting into the planned team of singers that will support Mikumo Shinomiya on stage during battle against Daat.

Ever since her parents' death and Mana's abduction during the events of Lost Christmas, she had been living a lonely and aimless life with her sister's fiancée, the only thing as close to a family she has left who is now acting as her legal guardian. Lost Christmas had not simply taken her family but her whole life. Sometimes she wondered why she even kept living.

She even wondered why she joined Chaos and participate in the program to form a new tactical sound unit. One might think that she did it partly out of the desire for revenge for the loss of her family since songs can weaken Daat but that reason does not resonate with her. She joined simply because she has nothing to do. Heck, she didn't even expect to be picked or try her best to be picked!

Unlike others who tried and really wanted to join the new unit, she only applied for the audition because she felt like it's a good idea at the time. And unlike those who practice hard until the day of the audition, she didn't put more effort than when she usually did when she sang. Though she did sing a lot every day. More than any normal person who's not an actual singer.

It's really the only thing she has left that she felt even the slightest bit passionate about. When she sings, she feels calm. She feels as if she's free from the shackles of the world. If only she could continue singing forever without stop. It would've been great.

"Miss Yuzuriha? Mrs. Shinomiya is ready to meet you."

"Yes."

Inori nodded when a woman in business suit came out of the room she's waiting outside of and mentioned her name. Early in the morning, she received a message from Mikumo herself to ask her whether they could meet for an interview. She came to find that there are very few others who were invited for an interview. No more than five others in fact with herself being the sixth. She's also the last one to be interviewed so she spent her time checking her channel while waiting.

A girl, one of the other participant of the audition, exited the room while exhaling her breath. Perhaps she got accepted into the new unit. Inori wouldn't know until she's done with her own interview. The pink haired girl stood up and walk into the room. Strangely though, the moment she entered, the woman in suit left, not entering the room together with her.

When she got inside, she saw an empty chair about a meter away from a desk. Seated behind the desk is Mikumo herself, and she's all alone. Inori took the empty seat and silently look at Mikumo, waiting for her to start speaking. There was around a minute of silence until Mikumo finally smirked and began speaking.

"Impressive. The other girls would be sweating and feeling nervous about now, but you didn't. I was right about you."

Inori tilted her head. Is this another test?

"Let's begin, shall we? Inori Yuzuriha, sister of Mana Yuzuriha. I heard your song during the audition. I have a good feeling about you."

She heard her singing? She didn't know that Mikumo was personally judging the participants. Nobody saw her in the venue. Though she's likely watching from a hidden room somewhere. Mana had mentioned that that's how artists usually judge contestants in such auditions while remaining incognito.

"The purpose of this interview is simple. I will be judging the contestants personally face-to-face. Please, sing any song you wish. It goes to say that there won't be any music accompaniment but that shouldn't be a problem, right?"

That is simple enough. So she's meant to sing and be judged directly by Mikumo. The lack of accompanying music is not a problem to her. She's used to it anyway. Inori nodded to Mikumo's request and stood up. Taking a deep breath, she began singing the song most familiar to her.

_'Saita no no hana yo_

_Aa douka oshiete okure_

_Hito wa naze kizutsukeatte_

_Arasou no desho._

_Rin to saku hana yo_

_Soko kara nani ga mieru_

_Hito wa naze yurushiau koto _

_Dekinai no desho._

_Ame ga sugite natsu wa_

_Ao wo utsushita _

_hitotsu ni natte_

_Chiisaku yureta watashi no mae de_

_Nanimo iwazu ni'_

Euterpe, the first song she ever learned to sing perfectly as well as the first song her sister had written. It is without a doubt her favorite and best song. While she had written other songs that she has mastered singing, she felt that Euterpe is the best song to sing in this moment.

As she finished her singing, Inori turn to Mikumo who showed no change in expression, only her usual mysterious half smile that everyone who had ever seen her is familiar with. There's no paper or tablet on which she would evaluate her performance. The Mysterious Venus simply stared at her.

"…Interesting song to pick. And refreshing. Out of everyone else I asked to sing today, you are the only one who didn't sing one of our songs. That is interesting. Thank you for your time today, miss Yuzuriha. You may leave. The result of your evaluation with be mailed to you later."

Inori bowed to Mikumo and turn back to leave. It's… a rather unusual interview. Granted, she's never been in an interview before but she thought that an interview usually consists of the interviewer asking questions before telling the interviewed to do something. But Mikumo simply told her to sing before sending her away. That was very unusual.

Inori shook her head. Maybe that's how Walkure always do their auditions. She wouldn't know. Whatever happens next, whether she's accepted or not, is not much of a concern to her. Either way is fine. What changed will simply be where she sings and for what purpose.

Feeling her stomach growling, Inori remembered that she hadn't had lunch. It's too late for lunch though. Last she checked her phone before she's called, it was already five. It seems she's going to eat out before going home.

As Inori left, Mikumo walk out of the interview room. The Walkure member looked at the pink-haired girl's back as she made a turn towards the exit. Closing the door behind her, Mikumo head towards Macross Veneficus.

* * *

On the bridge of Macross Veneficus, the captain of the mighty Macross battleship sat on his seat. It took a while but his ship is finally fully operational once more. Not that he's been idle when his Macross was damaged but it feels good to finally have the ship you captained be at full combat capacity once again.

As he stare into deep space from the bridge, he received a transmission from one of his pilots out on a mission of great importance. It's the one he's been waiting for and the reason why he's feeling antsy. He accepted the transmission and a line was established. The pilot's face appeared on the main screen of the bridge. The pilot in question is a young girl with brown hair wearing Chaos' pilot suit colored red.

_'This is Ensign Shinomiya. I've received the package from the doctor. I'll be arriving soon.'_

The girl reported. Kazumi breathe out in relief. He smiled at the apparent success of the mission. It's actually just a simple retrieval and delivery mission but the cargo the girl is carrying is extremely important. After all, it might just determine the course of their war with Daat.

"Good. Just be careful and keep out for trouble."

_'You don't have to worry about me. I know how to stay out of trouble, dad.'_

The girl replied. Kazumi rolled his eyes. The pilot on the screen is Ayase Shinomiya, the girl he rescued more than two years ago. Somehow, for one reason or another, he ended up adopting her after getting Mikumo's approval. He blamed Ozma Lee for this. Eventually, he smiled and told her.

"Just stay safe."

_"Of course dad."_

Ending the transmission, Ayase leisurely push the lever that control the output of her thrusters. Her custom red VF-31C with dove emblem equipped with Super Pack sped up and move ever closer to the fleet, carrying with her the item that will hopefully be the thing they need to end this war.

* * *

**So... it's been a while since I last updated this one. Well, I have no excuse other than negligence. Anyway, I finally have something worked out for this story. So I finally introduce the obvious main triangle in this Macross Crossover. Took me a while to work out Shu and Inori for this one. They won't be completely the same as they were in Guilty Crown though due to the different setting but I try to make them as close as they are to their original version. Inori in particular will be a piece of work considering she has actual family history and not a clone or whatever. I feel that if I made her a clone of Mana, who is not an Ouma here and not Patient Zero of the Apocalypse Virus, it would be a repeat of Mikumo who is a clone of the Star Singer. Though it might be interesting to have two cloned singers interacting with each other but I'm too lazy to change that now. Either way, Inori will be apprenticed by Mikumo. This takes place about five years after Macross Delta so if Mikumo is a bit different and more worldly-wise, it's because she's older, married, and probably pregnant... nah, just kidding. **


End file.
